Opera-glasses



(No Model.)

F. A. HARDY. OPERA GLASSES.

Patented Dec. 8, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS A. HARDY, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.

OPERA-GLASSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 572,540, datedDecember 8, 1896. Application filed April '7, 1896. Serial'll'o.586,496. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANCIS A. HARDY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Evanston, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented-certain new and useful Improvements in Opera-Glasses, of whichthe following is a specification.

The present invention relates to that class of opera-glasses that areprovided with permanent handles, by which they may be held when in use,and more especially to that class in which the handle is hinged to anarm proceeding from one of the two rings that are integral with theintermediate cross-bar of the glass. In one instance of a known glass ofthis class the arm to which the handle is hinged proceeds from the ringof the righthand tube at a point outside of the vertical plane and abovethe horizontal plane of the axis of the right-hand lens, and the axis ofthe hinge is in the central line of the handle and is far enough abovethe line touching the upper sides of the tubes in the plane of thecross-bar to permit the folding of the handle against the top side ofthe glass. lVhen desired for use, the handle is moved about the axis ofthe hinge through nearly threequarters of a circle and comes to abearing either against the side of the right-hand tube or against asuitably-arranged stop. This construction is objectionable for thereason that, because of the described location of the axis of the hingewith relation to the central line of the handle, in order to fold thehandle against the top of the glass it is necessary to make the arm towhich it is hinged of such length that it is not only unsightly, butmaterially increases the over-all dimensions of the glass. Furthermore,since the thickness of the arm must be proportional to its length .if aproper standard of strength is to be observed, it follows that there isa disadvantage, manifesting itself in an increased weight andincidentally in an increase in the cost of manufacture, in the use ofalong arm. The construction above described is also objectionable forthe reason that, because of the described location of the axis of thehinge with relation to the horizontal plane of the axis of theright-hand lens, it is necessary to use a handle that is longer than itwould be if the axis of the hinge were located in a lower plane, andthere is the same disadvantage in the use of a long handle as there isin the use of a long arm. In order to overcome all of these objections,I connect the handle to the intermediate cross-bar of the glass by meansof a hinge-joint, the axis of which is offset with relation to thecentral line of the handle and is located below the horizontal andoutside of the vertical plane of the axis of the right-hand lens andupon a line which touches the peripheries of the two rings of thecrossbar, or thereabout. This enables the use of a short handle and of ashort arm to which it is connected, since it avoids the necessity forcarrying the handle to a point above the plane of the under side of theglass and enables the folding of the handle against said under side.This latter is, however, only an incident to the described constructionand not an object of the invention.

In order to securely hold the glass and handle in the relative positionswhich they must occupy when in use, I provide the hinge-joint connectingthem with a lock which is under the control of the operator. Preferablythe bolt of the lock is constantly under the influence of a spring, bywhich it is caused to engage automatically, and preferably, also, it islocated within the handle, which is hollow and made of anumber oftelescopic sections.

The invention consists in the features of novelty that are particularlypointed out in the claims hereinafter, and in order that it may be fullyunderstood I will describe it with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, which are made a part hereof, and in which- Figure 1 is a rearelevation of an operaglass and its handle connected in accordance withthe invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, only a portion of theglass being shown. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation showing the detailsin the construction of the hinge-joint.

A represents the opera-glass, and B its handle, which are connected bymeans of a hingejoint of such construction that when it is desired to doso the handle may be folded against the under side of the glass, asindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

Preferably I construct the hinge-joint of a plurality of ears 0 and c,secured to the glass and to the handle, respectively, said ears beingperforated for the passage of the pivotpin 0, this being a simple andinexpensive and at the same time efficient and durable construction, andpreferably the car which is secured to the glass is integral with therighthand ring d of a part D, which enters into the construction ofevery opera-glass and is technically known as the intermediate crossbar. The ear 0 proceeds from the ring cl at a point below the horizontaland outside of the vertical plane of the axis of the righthand lens, andits perforation is so disposed that the axis of the hinge will fall in aline touching the peripheries of the two rings of the cross-bar. Theears 0 project laterally from the handle, and their perforations are sodisposed that the axis of the hinge will be offset with relation to thecentral line of the handle, the extent of the offset being sufficient,and only sufficient, to permit the fold ing of the handle against theunder side of the glass. By reason of this particular location of theaxis of the hinge-joint with relation to the glass and to the handle Iam able to reduce to a minimum the length of the handle and the lengthof the arm to which it is hinged.

Preferably the ear 0 is cut away on its outer side to provide a shoulder0, presented upward, and within the hollow handle is arranged a bolt E,which is adapted to cooperate with the ear 0 and the shoulder thereofand with means for limiting the endwise and sidewise movement of thebolt for locking the joint. hen the parts are in the positions shown inthe drawings, the shoulder a is in engagement with the under side of aflange or head 6, formed on the bolt, and under the influence of theweight of the glass the ear will force the bolt endwise and sidewise,its movement in these directions being resisted by the end and side ofthe handle, respectively; or, if desired, its endwise movement may beresisted by the contact of a pin G with the end of a slot Z), with whichthe handle is provided and through which the pin passes, its inner endbeing suitably secured to the bolt.

If desired, the head Z) and the abrupt shoulder 0 may be dispensed with,since the interposition of the bolt between the cam-like ear and theside of the handle will effctually lock the parts for all practicalpurposes. The bolt is preferably under the influence of a coiled springF, arranged within the handle and bearing at one end against a plug band at the other against the bolt.

In construing the terms upper, lower, vertical, horizontal, &c., as usedin this specification it is to be presupposed that the glass is beingconsidered in the position which it occupies when in use.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination with an opera-glass having an ear projecting downwardfrom the right-hand ring of the intermediate cross-bar and lying in theplane thereof, of a handle hinge-jointed to said ear and adapted to foldagainst the under side of the glass, and means for locking the handleand glass when brought to the relative positions necessary for use,substantially asset forth.

2. The combination with an opera-glass having a perforated earprojecting downward from the intermediate cross-bar and lying in theplane thereof, of a handle having a perforated ear, a pivot-pinoccupying the perforations of said ears and connecting the handle andcrossbar, and means for looking or unlocking the ears, the parts beingso ar ranged that the handle may be folded against the under side of theglass, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with an opera-glass and its handle of a hinge-jointconnecting the handle to the intermediate cross-bar of the glass andadapted to permit the handle to be .folded against the under side of theglass and a lock for locking the joint, when the handle is brought to agiven position with relation to the glass, and thereby preventing thehandle from folding against the under side of the glass until the jointis again unlocked, substantially as set forth.

4:. The combination with an opera-glass and its handle, of a hinge-jointconnecting the handle to the intermediate cross-bar of the glass andadapted to permit the handle to be folded against the under side of theglass, and a lock, having a spring-actuated bolt, adapted toautomatically lock the joint when the handle is brought to a givenposition with relation to the glass, and means for withdrawing saidbolt, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with an opera-glass and its handle, of a hinge-jointconnecting them. and adapted to permit thehandle to be folded againstthe under side of the glass, said joint consisting of a perforated earprojecting from the glass and having a shoulder, a perforated ear,carried by the handle, and a pivot, a bolt carried by the handle andadapted to engage said shoulder, a spring for moving said bolt in onedirection and means for moving it in the other direction, substantiallyas set forth.

6. The combination with an opera-glass and its handle, of a hinge-jointconnecting them and adapted to permit the handle to be folded againstthe under side of the glass, a bolt arranged within the handle andadapted to look the joint, and a pin projecting from the bolt andthrough a slot in the handle, substantially as set forth.

'7. The combination with. an opera-glass and and the side to the handle,substantially as set forth.

FRANCIS A. HARDY.

Witnesses:

L. M. HOPKINS, N. O. GRIDLEY.

